Bengal Tiger | The Last Ones

About the Bengal Tiger

The Bengal tiger is the most numerous tiger subspecies — representing roughly 70% of the world's estimated 4,500 wild tigers — yet it remains endangered, with fewer than 3,000 individuals persisting in fragmented populations across India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan. It is the apex predator of the Asian rainforest and one of the most dangerous animals on earth.

Bengal tigers are powerful, solitary hunters capable of killing prey as large as adult gaur (Indian bison) weighing over 1,000 kilograms. They hunt by stalking — using dense vegetation and silence to approach prey — then ambushing with a rapid, explosive burst of speed. A tiger's roar can be heard up to three kilometres away and is one of the most evocative sounds in nature.

India's Project Tiger — launched in 1973 — established a network of tiger reserves that have been the primary vehicle for Bengal tiger conservation. The country now has over 50 tiger reserves covering more than 70,000 square kilometres. Tiger numbers in India have roughly doubled since the low point of the early 2000s, though this recovery is fragile and uneven.

The Sundarbans — the vast mangrove forest delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna rivers — represents one of the most important Bengal tiger habitats and the only coastal mangrove tiger population in the world. This population is critically endangered, isolated, and threatened by sea level rise from climate change.

Threats They Face

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Poaching and illegal wildlife trade — Tigers are killed for their skins, bones, teeth, and claws, which are traded illegally for traditional medicine and luxury goods. Poaching for bones — to supply tiger bone wine — is a particular threat.

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Human-tiger conflict — As tiger habitat is encroached upon by human settlement and agriculture, tiger attacks on humans and livestock increase, leading to retaliatory killings.

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Habitat fragmentation — Roads, railways, and development fragment tiger habitat, isolating populations and reducing genetic exchange between them.

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Sundarbans sea level rise — The Sundarbans tiger population faces near-term extinction from sea level rise, which is already inundating the low-lying mangrove islands.

Conservation Actions

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Project Tiger reserve network — India's network of over 50 tiger reserves provides core protected habitat for approximately 70% of India's tigers.

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Wildlife crime enforcement — Interpol and South Asian wildlife crime enforcement networks target tiger poaching and illegal trade networks, with some notable arrests and prosecutions.

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Community-based conservation — Programmes that compensate livestock losses and provide alternative livelihoods for communities in tiger range reduce human-tiger conflict and retaliatory killing.